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Archive for the 'Scientists' Category

August 17, 2008

Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist best known for his contributions in the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Faraday received little formal education but read scientific books and experimented a lot on electricity. Later on he became a protege of a British chemist, Sir Humphry Davy. He received many scientific honors, including the Royal and Rumford medals of the Royal Society. He was born on September 22,1791 and died August 25,1867.

His research and study of chlorine led to the discovery of two new chlorides of carbon and he also discovered benzene. While experimenting with magnetism, Faraday discovered the existence of diamagnetism and the other fact that a magnetic field has the capability to rotate the plane of polarized light passing through certain types of glass. He also established the principle that different dielectric substances have different specific inductive capacities.


July 25, 2008

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer and natural philosopher, is considered as one of the most important scientists of all time. Newton, as well as Einstein, may well be the most influential scientists in history. His most famous works are the formulation of the universal law of gravitation and and the laws of motion. Such laws have become the fundamental concepts of classical mechanics and have been applied to engineering. His other important contributions to science include the study of optics and the mathematical field of calculus. Newton’s contributions explained the important relationship between mathematics and the physical world.


July 9, 2008

Leonardo Da Vinci

leonardo_da_vinci.jpgHe was a renowned master of the Renaissance age; Leonardo Da Vinci was a Scientist, Mathematician, Inventor, and one of the most famous Renaissance Painters. Born to Piero da Vinci and Caterina in Florence Italy. He was an artist like no other, dubbed as the “Renaissance Man”‘ for his amazing gift of foresight in terms of his art and inventions. da Vinci’s artistic education began under the tutelage of the famed Florentine artist, Andrea del Verrochio. Sfumato is the technique utilized and perfected by da Vinci, this is a blending technique that he applied to one of his timeless masterpieces, The Mona Lisa. His other great creations include: The Last Supper, Adoration of the Magi, Virgin of the Rocks, St. Jerome in the Wilderness, and many others.


July 5, 2008

Galileo Galilei

galileo_galilei.jpgGalileo Galilei is an Italian physicist and astronomer who had several contributions to science,physics and astronomy. He discovered the laws of falling bodies and the motions of projectiles in physics, the use of the telescope in observation, the discovery of sunspots, the mountains and valleys of the Moon, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus in astronomy and collaborated with Johannes Kepler to initiate the scientific revolution. He is considered to be the ‘Father of Modern Observational Astronomy’, the ‘Father of Modern Physics’ and the ‘Father of Modern Science’.

Galileo was a firm believer of heliocentrism, theory suggesting that the sun is the center of the solar system, which was considered against the Catholic Church’s belief in the scriptures because of this Galileo was forced to recant his heliocentrism and was placed in house arrest on orders of the Inquisition.


May 18, 2008

Albert Einstein

Albert_Einstein.jpg

Known for his messy, gray hair and his bushy mustache, Albert Einstein may well be the 20th century’s favorite scientist. Although he wasn’t much of an academic achiever in his younger years, he had a penchant for nature and an uncanny ability to understand mathematical concepts beyond his age.

Einstein was born in Germany, but moved to America later in his life. He is highly revered by the Physics community for his extensive contributions to theoretical Physics. His love for the violin is frequently overlooked because of his scientific genius. The name “Einstein” is often used to refer to an individual exhibiting genius qualities.